Romancing the Dragon  A Halloween Story
by Kaeru Shisho
Summary: A Halloween-themed, one-shot with multiple get-togethers, featuring: 01x02,  06x05, and 03x04
1. Chapter 1

**Romancing the Dragon**

**A Halloween Story **

A Halloween-themed, one-shot with multiple get-togethers, featuring: 01x02, 03x04, 06x05

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

**Warnings:** AU, male/male pairings, language

Chapter 1

The last time Heero had seen Duo, the man had been surrounded by no fewer than four women hanging on his every word. There was no reason for Heero to wait for an opening; it could be never. Duo was waiting for the next assignment, holding court in the hall, while his partner was typing up their report. He could be busy for an hour or more.

Earlier, Heero had walked by their office and looked in.

"Maxwell? Good luck. We gotta hour to get this report done, so if you see him, tell'im to get his butt back in here."

Peters was a likable lump. Duo ran circles around him out in the field and avoided him and his desk the rest of the time, as far as Heero could tell.

"I'll tell him you miss him."

"You do that, Yuy. He might listen to you."

The agent with his famous-to-the-point-of-being-iconic, erratically arranged hair let out a two-part snort intended as a chuckle. "Not likely," he told him, and moved on to leave Peters to his work.

Heero had learned the art of ascertaining the arrangement of an organization quickly and had made a point of moving on once he'd found out that it didn't agree with him. After participating in what he called "that traveling circus called Her Majesty's Guard", he'd left Relena's service to join Duo, Wufei, and Trowa at Une's peacekeeping Preventers agency. Quatre had just departed the agency to run his own business, and Heero knew why—Trowa was his lover.

Heero didn't mind being put in charge of trainee weapons-training after his first week and found pleasure in the job.

As he'd told Trowa, his closest friend, apart from Duo, "The position is perfect for me. No killing is required. I know the material inside out and I've been told that I relate to the young men and women well enough to drive the information into their brains."

"You relate to trainees? Are they human in origin?" Trowa kidded him; at least, Heero took it as a joke and smiled.

After dropping in on Duo's partner, Heero left the office hall, and approached the break room, which was when he heard the women's giggles and Duo's husky voice. Apparently, the braided one had his hands full and seemed to be enjoying some down time.

Heero moved on again, aiming for the coffee aroma. Coffee would buy him time before lunch. He and Duo often shared a table in the downstairs cafeteria, when duties allowed it, and Duo's social life.

_He might be too busy to get away today, _Heero thought as he wandered toward the coffee station._ Trowa or Wufei might be free for lunch; I think we were all meeting sometime. Was that today_? Thinking about Duo had driven all other details, like appointments, out of his head.

He and Duo had become closer friends over the past months, real friends, not just war acquaintances. Duo was more open and talkative than either Trowa or Wufei, making it easy to get to know him. What Heero most liked about him was his contagious laugh.

"He makes me see the humor around us," he'd once told Trowa in an attempt to obliquely explain how he felt.

"Ex-terrorists being trusted with keeping the peace _is_ pretty funny," Trowa had replied, either missing Heero's point or just being droll to avoid sensitive issues of the heart.

Heero and Trowa never discussed romance. Never. Ever. But, Duo had been trying to get Heero to go out… on a date… a double date with him and some women at work, and Heero needed to talk to someone about what to do, and it wasn't going to be Trowa.

"I'll take care of everything, if you'll just say you'll come. Please?" Duo had begged.

But Heero wasn't interested. If Duo had asked out just _him_, Heero would have said "yes" instantly. He didn't mind going out, but he only wanted to date Duo and he didn't think his girl-chasing friend would understand that, or he _knew_ Duo would understand what he meant and never want to spend time with him again.

Taking that plunge had been too difficult for Heero.

"Sooner or later I'll have to go on one of those double dates, just to be with him," he guessed. It was something he'd chew over and over and over.

Pounding footfalls racing up behind him was all the warning Heero had. He had just enough time to spin on a heel and, in an instant, to recognize who was heading for a collision with him.

_Oof! _

Prepared or not, Heero nearly had the air knocked out of him. A pair of arms latched on, clenching his waist then sliding up to encircle his neck. The mussy-haired agent was too surprised to know what to say. The other man had moved too fast for him to break away without causing him harm, and he didn't want to hurt Duo.

So he stood there, arms retracting around the heaving body all of their own, while damp breath moistened his ear.

A voice whispered, "Make it look good, 'Ro. Like you really care."

"Wha-?"

A hot mouth clamped over Heero's.

At no time was he under the impression that a girl was kissing him. Not once did he feel he was kissing anyone but a man. The prickly upper lip and the flat, hard chest pressing into his was a dead giveaway. When a heavy rope of brown hair slid over the back of his hand, the hand with muscles of iron secured to that strong back, Heero had no doubt that it could be no one but Duo Maxwell kissing back.

He was not letting go and Duo was starting to wiggle.

_Too bad._

_You started this._

Heero could hold his breath for two full minutes, but apparently Duo could not. Suction broke and he wrenched away his lips, panting.

"Got…to…air—."

_Something like that._ Duo's violet eyes met Heero's dark blues for an instant, varnished with shine, and then vanished under a screen of bangs as he looked down.

"Are they gone?" Duo asked.

Heero suspected he meant the ladies he'd been chatting with. "They are dispersing like fall leaves in a windstorm," he told him.

"Drop a little poetic language once in awhile," Zechs, Heero's boss, had once recommended; although, he couldn't recall the application any more. "It gets noticed."

Heero imagined it would, coming from Commander Merquise, ex-prince of Sanc, especially. He had given it a shot and on the first try, got the response he'd been hoping for.

Duo's chin jerked up, and those expressive, blue-purple eyes were staring into his when he looked. If he wanted Heero to set him free, he'd have to ask. At this point the damage, if any, was done, was Heero's view on the situation.

"Um… ah… thanks, bud, for the save." Wiggle. "I think we got'em convinced." Wiggle, wiggle.

_Save, my ass. That was a lame excuse,_ Heero thought. He was curious what Duo would come up with next. "Convinced of what?"

"Ah, that I had other plans for the party, you know?"

"What party?"

"THE party. C'mon, 'Ro, think. He's your boss." He wiggled hard enough to get free from Heero, but lost his jacket to the other man's grip.

"Merquise's Spook-tacular Halloween bash?" Heero said, repeating the words on the invitation. He brushed the wrinkles out of the Duo's jacket sleeve, pressed in place by his steel grip. "You have plans to go?"

"I don't, not in fact; though, I think we all really oughta show up. And," Duo sighed and reached for his Preventers coat. "I didn't want to take any of them. Leeches."

"Then don't."

"I won't _now. _They really wanted to go to a party at the palace, but I think I've convinced them I'm out of bounds."

"Off limits," Heero said.

"Yeah, well, thanks for the cover. Not too many guys I could count on for a save like that."

_None_ _would have done what I had_, Heero thought, not that he believed a word of his lousy excuse. _Lame as a one-legged chicken_. If Duo's guess had been wrong about some mutual attraction going on between them, then Heero might laid him out on the floor with a right upper cut—or worse.

_No, he hadn't been guessing. He'd known._ He had known Heero would let him kiss him senseless in the hall of the Preventers headquarters building, surrounded by agents and staff.

So, Heero decided to state his case, little by little. "I'm glad to hear that. I hate competition getting in the way of progress."

Duo's eyes widened to dinner plate dimensions. He blinked. He blinked again.

Heero's lips curved upwards, slightly. Having silenced Duo Maxwell was an achievement in and of itself, but having gone this far with success, he decided to build on what had to be Duo's first move on him and his less than subtle hint that he was interested.

"We should take this to the conference room, where we can talk," Heero told him. "The training personnel left a meeting there, and I know the room is available for the remainder of the unused hour."

Duo appeared baffled by the turn of events or the flood of information. _Why,_ Heero wondered? He took Duo by the elbow and steered him in the right direction. Duo seemed to recover and skipped along quickly, a nervous smile lurking around the corners of his mouth. Heero kept his expression fixed. He didn't know how he appeared to Duo, but wasn't concerned, because Duo had to be acquainted with his expressions by now.

Heero paused at the door, cracking it open to make sure the room was empty. It was unoccupied as expected.

"Hey, 'Ro?" Duo's voice sounded small.

_Was I frightening him_, Heero wondered? Thinking now that he looked too stern, Heero worked at softening his eyes, parting his lips, looking, as Zechs had put it, 'Less intimidating.'

"Yes?"

"Lemme get this straight, er, completely understood. This is like a good kind of talk? Not a 'beat the shit out of Duo when no one's looking' kinda talk, right?"

"Yes, of course. I think my reaction to your assault should have been a clue as to how I felt about you."

"Assault? Y-yeah, sure. That was some kiss, I gotta say. A real toe curler. I just wanted to be super _real_ sure. Can't be too careful, regardless of what Quat said."

"Quat? What does he have to do with this?" Heero asked, although he could guess, the little schemer.

He knew how Heero felt about Duo. His sensitive 'space heart' had told him. Heero thought it was more his 'sweet heart', Trowa, who had told him how crazy he'd reacted the last time Duo'd been shot and sent to the ER. _Honestly, that dent in the door could have been from anyone's fist!_

Heero worked through the steps leading to the current situation. Trowa had done his math and figured out how Heero felt about Duo. Unable to do anything about it himself, Trowa had passed that juicy nugget on to his sheet-sharer. Quatre knew he'd struck gold, and didn't lose a microsecond latching onto Duo and giving him the news. And that explained why Duo wasn't afraid to make a public disturbance of his opening move.

_Now he wasn't so sure of my motives. Idiot. If he wasn't so sure of his source now, it had to be because of my actions_, Heero concluded.

Duo waited judiciously until the door closed behind them before replying. "He, um… hinted that I might have a chance with you. Just a hint. Could be wa-ay off base-"

"Yeah, his little birdie 'space heart' told you so. He gave you that line, too?"

Duo laughed and gilded Heero's world with his warmth. He dropped into a chair and settled his feet on the table top. A composed position, but Heero could see the tenseness in his shoulders and furtive eye contact. "Not exactly. Trowa told him about my being in the ER and you being worried."

"Hn." Big mouths all of them. Heero pushed aside a book and pair of half-glasses, making room to hitch a leg up on the table. Propped on the edge , he could lean down over the attractive, nervously chatty man.

"And you damaged the building when they wouldn't let you in to see me and Une had to have you led away—" Duo stopped to look down at his hands. His fingernails were chewed and he seemed poised to nibble at them again, but was hanging back.

"It's true, though they shouldn't have told you."

"But-!"

"_I_ should have told you then how I felt."

He peeked up at me through his bangs. "Why didn't you?"

"For all the reasons you said nothing to me. We had a good friendship and no surety of acceptance or success."

Now he relaxed, slumped comfortably in the chair, and nodded his agreement. "True enough. And now?"

"I'm still your friend," Heero told him, lowering his leg and taking a step closer.

"Good."

"I liked the kiss." While resting a hand on his shoulder, Heero swung a leg over Duo's and lowered himself onto his lap. "And the contact."

"Contact's… good." Heero like how Duo's voice had gone husky, dry like the Tequila he liked to drink.

Duo's feet hit the floor and arms wrapped around the slightly shorter man as Heero settled comfortably and pushed his groin into his flat stomach.

The neatly braided head fell back and Duo moaned. "God, is this for real?"

"I think we should try out that kiss again. Don't you?" Heero asked.

"Yeah."

Heero held up the other man's head, digging his fingers into that impossibly thick hair. He couldn't get over how sensitive his lips were, skimming over the delicate skin of Duo's eyelids.

_Lips were meant to do this,_ Heero thought, as he caressed further the rougher texture of his cheek.

Tough hands dragged Heero's face into his, mashing lips onto lips, then Duo's parted and a moist tongue darted out.

_That's so like him._ Heero cracked a smile, and let Duo muscle his way inside. Heero had never kissed like that. _So invasive and primal._

Heero growled and pushed back. Their tongues fought for territory, ownership of the other mouth. Heero was rocking on his lap—

There was a click.

Heero's back was to the door- proof of how completely out of it he was, because he never left himself so vulnerable, where he couldn't observe an attack- so he couldn't see who'd peeked in.

Duo's eyes opened to mere slits then Heero felt him freeze and pull back.

"Shit!"

The door slammed shut again.

"Who-?" Heero began to ask.

"Chang!" Duo replied with an accompanying groan. "Of all the possible dickheads and dipsticks to be nosing around! Damnit all! I do not want to hear another of his lectures on 'inappropriate behavior in the workplace'!"

Feeling their moment was lost, for the time being, Heero stood and gave his friend a hand up. "Nor do I. We should go after him. Talk to him."

"Yeah, for all the good that'll do."

"Let him vent around to just you and me," Heero said.

"Right, and leave our bosses out of it?"

Heero caught Duo's hand and for a moment his eyes. "It was good," he told him.

"Yeah, it was. Not just a onetime thing, right?"

"Not to me," Heero assured him. "We'll take up where we left off later."

"I'll hold you to that," Duo said with a side smile. "Now, let's go see if we can put out the dragon's fire."

"Mission accepted." It was an old comment of Heero's that came out of his mouth automatically still, but it sounded silly these days, he thought. Heero's smile went crooked to match Duo's.

Before leaving, Heero reached across the table for the book and glasses, which he'd identified as Chang's. With the articles cradled in his hands, Heero scrambled to follow the flying braid attached to the man rushing to catch up to their intruder.

(o)

Wufei marched into his office and slammed the door so hard it bounced back open halfway and he was too upset to notice. "Dear Buddha."

He stood, hands on his desktop, shoulder width apart, breathing in deep, measured breaths, preparing mentally to engage in his Tai Chi exercises. He would relieve his considerable stress. Immediately.

Off flew the fitted Preventers jacket into a crumple on his chair, and then he took up his first position.

Two steps into his exercises and his mind reverted to its former state of utter confusion.

"I misinterpreted what I saw."

He had not walked into a conference room and seen Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy locking lips in an embrace. Duo must have been joking around. Heero must have been shoving him away.

Next position. Control breathing. Focus.

"No. I didn't."

It was possible that Duo had something in his eye, and Heero was showing him a new way to kill someone using only your tongue—*

"Impossible!"

He knew what he'd seen. There was no excusing it. They each had a hand embedded in the other's hair, a hand gripping the other's waist. They both were fully engaged in their act of… indecency.

So shocking had been their display that he'd completely forgotten what he'd been going to do.

"Why in hell had I gone looking in that room in the first place?"

TBC…

* A/N: Dear me, I must give credit to Waterlily for this one- she's got the bet sense of humor


	2. Chapter 2

**Romancing the Dragon**

**A Halloween Story **

A Halloween-themed, one-shot with multiple get-togethers, featuring: 01x02, 03x04, 06x05

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

**Warnings:** AU, male/male pairings, language

Chapter 2

"Want odds on whether or not any of them remembered the lunch date we set last month?" Quatre asked, as his boyfriend walked him past security.

"Odds from you? The man who can read crystal balls better'n a gypsy in the circus?" Trowa chuckled. "No thank you. I'll just wait'n see."

"I do not read futures, Mr. Barton!"

The young man with the long, caramel-colored bangs stopped to rest his hand on the other man's shoulders, holding him in place. "Coulda fooled me. From the moment we met, what you've said's been right."

"Not everything—" the blond demurred with a suggestion of smile starting on his lips.

"Everything important, like how I should stop looking for love, because I didn't have to go any farther to find what I needed, and that was you."

"Did I tell you that? Pretty forward of me."

"Perceptive and intuitive."

The blonde in the grey designer-label business suit smiled. "You were hot and I was horny."

"And you had more than a hunch about how I felt _vis a vis _you."

"All right," Quatre's smile brightened as he cranked up the charm. "Now _you're _going all Continental on me and dazzling my brain."

"I go with what I got." Trowa's smile revealed the pleasure he felt in his boyfriend's presence, and that he'd been responsible for the delicate pink color rising to Quatre's cheeks.

"Exactly my point!" Quatre nearly crowed. "I have a useful tool as well, and I use it. So do you."

"Yes, but _I_ only use mine on _you_." Trowa flashed a miniscule smile and released his grip.

Quatre flushed to his hairline and he smothered his laugh in a hand. "You…are so… bad."

Then he coughed, pressed his hands to his chest, and gasped.

Trowa rolled his eyes. "Stop with the drama-"

Quatre moaned. "The pain! Duo, Heero!"

"-Are okay. Look they're coming this way."

Quatre frowned. "Well, they aren't happy- not entirely- and Duo does look a little harried."

"His braid's been neater, I'll give you that. Take a couple deep breaths and let me handle this."

They watched as Duo dashed around the corner, upsetting a wayward trash can in his haste. Heero trailed in his wake, vaulting the trash can, and reaching for the braid tip.

_Stretch, reach, grab, tug._

"Hey!" Duo skidded to a halt. "Damnit! That hurts like hell!

"Then stop."

"I'll stop when I get where I'm going and I'm here so I was gonna stop without needing my hair yanked outta my head!"

"You're out of shape."

"Huh? Why do you say that, 'cause I'm panting? I was vaulting and running and talking and there's only one air passage for all of that. One."

"I breathe through my nose."

Duo's mouth snapped shut. His nostrils flared.

"You look sexy when you look at me that way."

_Sexy? Since when did Yuy tell Duo he looked sexy? _Trowa looked to Quatre for an answer, but none was forthcoming.

Quatre gave the pair a cheery wave and greeted them. "Um, hi guys."

"Hey, Quat, what brings you here, as if I need to ask with Agent Tall-and-Secretive standing right there, heh, heh?"

Trowa shook his head and sighed. "When was the last time you ate?"

"I don't know. Kinda an unscheduled event."

"We are going to lunch. All of us. Today. Remember?"

Silence.

"Wufei! Did he just go by?" Duo asked, looking frantically around Trowa.

"Already in his office."

"He stuck his nose where it don't belong and… geez—"

Heero, Trowa thought, also looked a little worse for wear, also, his shirt wrinkled and hair messier than usual.

"We were kissing in the conference room," Heero reported.

Quatre gasped audibly. "You and Wufei?"

"He means Duo and him," Trowa mumbled. "Just stand down, ex-agent Winner."

Who didn't stand back or down. "Oh… Oh! So, Duo, you finally told him-?"

Heero was shaking his head, "no", while listening to Duo.

"Didn't things go…well, Heero?" Quatre asked, switching clients to shake down for information and continuing to pry.

Heero shrugged and answered, "Hn," which could mean anything.

Duo began waving his arms and ignoring everything else going on around him. "—he must have gone around the other way. Let's go in—"

"Duo," Trowa wrestled one arm to his side and got his attention. "Slow down."

"But-!"

"He's right." Quatre just stepped into the middle, having warned out the edges of the conversation. "You and I should go talk to him first, Trowa,"

"No—" Heero began his line of objection, which was paralleling Trowa's.

Quatre, though, gazed into his boyfriend's eyes adoringly and whispered, "It might get us to lunch sooner?"

The taller agent with the long fall of bangs shook his head at the same time he caved. "All right. Duo, how about you just give us five minutes to test the waters and then you can dive in and drown for all I care."

"Please?" Quatre begged with sugar on top and whipped cream.

Since no one could say no to one of Quatre's reasonable pleas when they were also subjected to his soulful eyes, huge and shining aquamarine innocence—very effective at persuasion and eliciting compassion - the outted couple headed for the coffee urn, while the confirmed couple scooted up to Wufei's door.

Quatre lowered his voice to a whisper to his boyfriend, "He _saw_ them? Oh dear. He's—"

"Pissed? 

The blond nodded. "I'm afraid he's very…irate. I'd say he's about to break something."

Trowa combed through his bangs again with a free hand. "Why did they go for it at work, after making moony-eyes at each other for months? Why today? Why here? Why with Wufei buzzing around?"

"Not that I thought he'd move so fast or this soon," Quatre said mostly to himself.

"What was that? Oh, so you had something to do with this sudden change in tactics?" _Of course my scheming boyfriend did,_ Trowa filled in mentally_!_

One uneven shrug was all the answer he got. "But I warned Duo to take it slow, and confide in me _in private_ if things got…close." Quatre shook his head. "I just knew that keeping their affair a secret from Wufei would eventually—"

"Bite them in the ass?" Trowa filled in as they came to a stop outside Wufei's door.

"Something like that." Quatre leaned his shoulder against the door jam. He pushed the partly opened door a little in order to get a peek at the man inside, but it swung back and obscured the view.

"Well, I'd expect Duo to initiate something spectacularly stupid, once he thought the coast was clear." Trowa paused to see if Quatre would own up to having given Duo "the go ahead".

He got nothing but a guilty look.

"But not Heero," Trowa continued. "Heero told me about Wufei's lecture he gave the new recruits on the dangers of inter-agent fraternization. That was bordering on invasion of privacy. I don't know of any actual Preventer regulations on dating."

"I don't blame them for avoiding telling him," Quatre said.

"Heh, heh…Wufei's feelings on the subject didn't stop _us_."

"No, but I was no longer working here."

"Practically."

Quatre sighed. "They should have let us break it to him gently. Poor Duo."

"How about 'poor Heero?" Trowa pointed out. "He's got to work with Wufei and report to a hardnosed boss. Duo and I report to Zechs, who is cool about these things."

"You are right. Poor Heero. Except… he seems to let things like that slide like—"

"- water off a duck's back?"

"Yes." They shared the thought, a sentence, and then a smile.

"I wonder if our friends will be joining us for lunch after all this is over?" Quatre broke the silence.

Trowa wondered if Quatre had skipped breakfast or something. Although they shared a condo, he had left for work before Quatre had left the shower. He sure had food on the brain, so maybe he forgot. "Maybe we ought move things along here and get that read on Chang's mood?" he prompted.

Wufei's door swung open, falling inwards with Quatre stumbling for footing. "Oops!"

Wufei stood on the other side, one hand on the door the other on the jam. He leaned forward letting a loose strand of hair outline his jaw line, which was pulsing with clenching and unclenching of his teeth. "I can hear you both."

Trowa had hold of Quatre's jacket and pulled him upright and out of Wufei's striking range. "I told Une she should have gone all-out for the solid wood doors."

"No you didn't," Wufei said, "but you should have. Had you, she would have bought them. She always liked you best. If you'd asked for gold inlaid doors she would have splurged."

Trowa flashed him a smile and snapped it away just as fast. "I should try that."

"I'm so sorry you're upset," Quatre said soothingly.

"'Sorry' doesn't solve the problem," Wufei snapped, then extracted his fangs from Quatre's throat, so to speak, and drew a deep breath. "It was a minor glitch in my day, actually. I just think a person should be able to enter a public room to look for his belongings without being subjected to inappropriate displays."

Trowa stared at Quatre who stared back expectant as a puppy, then looked at the Chinese agent, and asked, "So, did you find what you were looking for?"

Wufei's face washed clean of color then in a tsunami of shame flushed dark red. Obviously in his rush to quit the conference room he had totally forgotten what had sent him, but he remember now – he'd misplaced his reading glasses.

"No, the room was in…use. You know that perfectly well. I'll return later to look when it is unoccupied. Thank you." He said this in a stream of words all the while pushing them towards the door. " Now, I have a new training exercise to finish outlining, and Agent Barton, there's an item of interest on your desk. Sorry it took so long getting to you, another office screw-up, but it shouldn't come as any real surprise. Good bye."

The door closed behind them with an aggravated snick.

"Should we knock and ask him if he'd like us to search the room _for_ him?" Trowa asked.

"Don't goad him on purpose. It's bad enough how Duo teases him, and now this."

"Well, it's my guess that Chang won't be joining us for lunch. In that case," Trowa turned smoothly to the other two agents sneaking looks at one another. "Would you and Heero still like to go eat with us?" Trowa asked.

"Sure, um, right 'Ro?"

"After we apologize to Chang."

"Oh, yeah, after that. We came here to do that."

"You might need to rethink _that _action plan," Quatre muttered. "Here comes Merquise."

"Speak of the devil and he appears." Trowa received an elbow in the ribs for that.

They parted like the Red Sea, allowing Trowa and Duo's superior officer to pass directly to the door knob.

"Have you nothing better to do this morning or are you here to discuss the files I placed on your desks?" Zechs said. "That includes you, Yuy."

"Files?" Duo rarely had the need to open, review, or add to files. "Ah, we haven't seen them yet, ah, sir."

"Well, then, Agent Maxwell, I recommend you and your fellow agents do that now and leave Agent Chang to his work. And Mr. Winner, you don't belong here at all."

"I was just leaving." Quatre touched his boyfriend's arm and leaned in. "I'll wait in the lobby—but not for much longer!"

"Why not in my private office?" Trowa asked, his smile becoming downright predatory as the pair sauntered away. "Help me review my files."

Duo turned and watched Zechs who was waiting, staring down Heero.

"I found these." Heero held out a pair of reading glasses and a book. "Agent Chang left them in the conference room."

"Ah!" Zechs took the items. "I'll see that he gets them."

Heero left with a simple nod to his superior officer, "Sir."

Zechs inclined his chin, "Agent." He watched the others depart from the hall outside Wufei's office before knocking.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

**Romancing the Dragon**

**A Halloween Story **

A Halloween-themed, one-shot with multiple get-togethers, featuring: 01x02, 03x04, 06x05

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

**Warnings:** AU, male/male pairings, language

Chapter 3

Chang Wufei was pacing. What he needed was a cup of tea. A properly brewed, soothing herbal tisane would quell his nerves.

Duo Maxwell. He was like a beer, a cheap canned one, all shook up- flick the tab and outflows foamy froth and noisy outbursts.

Trowa Barton was a rustic red wine, dependable, not particularly bold, but with potential.

Heero Yuy was like sake; both took some getting used to.

Quatre Winner was champagne. Bubbly, refined, and could go straight to your head.

Someone knocked at the door. A light touch, possibly gloved?

"I didn't invite you to come in." Wufei said automatically, thinking it was one of the other agents, and then as the door slowly opened his eyes flickered over the long, lean… um… dignified, aristocratic, masculine man, lounging just inside the door.

There was a time when he would have pigeon-holed Zechs Merquise as a fine, refined brandy and pushed all thoughts of him to the dusty, far-back of the liquor cabinet.

Once upon a time. And that was to avoid lusting over him like a pubescent boy.

At the moment, what came to mind was a very dry martini, shaken not stirred. There was the sparkling glint of a diamond earring, the mane of silken, platinum hair, glistening and loose, fluid in elegant curves over wide shoulders jacketed in his perfectly tailored, pale grey uniform, and flowing freely to a feathery end at the man's narrow waist. The pair of incredibly long legs, crossed at the ankles, draped in silvery wool flannel slacks.

One hand gripped a green file and smaller red book.

A very, very dry martini. Complete with cocktail olive. Cock- tail. Cock… tail-

"Agent Chang?"

Wufei jumped to attention. He had been drinking in the serene vision still lingering at his door and suddenly realized that he'd been rude to an officer, not recommended even if he was from an entirely different department.

"Oh, forgive me. I didn't mean you. How discourteous of me. Come in, please."

Zechs Merquise strode over to the neat desk and set the book and glasses in the center. He folded his arms across his chest, turned toward the other man, and chuckled deep in his chest. He appeared totally unruffled by the younger man's behavior. "I take it your office has been under attack?"

"Yes, that is a good analogy. Some other agents need to respect limits, personal space, not to mention reams of rules pertaining to appropriate office deportment. And I don't restrict that to my inner sanctum. They act inappropriately in public meeting rooms."

"I see. These intruding agents, could they be the ones I chased away?"

"Most likely. And thank you."

"They are all obviously fond of you."

"They are _fond_, as you put it, of each other and flaunt it constantly. It is unprofessional."

"It can be at times."

"They're men!"

"Is that the primary problem?" Zechs' smile tightened.

"Yes!"

"Wufei, homosexuality is not against the rules—"

"Not _that_. I meant that they are men, who are dedicated, and should know better. They should exert more self control in the work environment."

Zechs' stare intensified, as if he could extract the information from Wufei's mind if he sharpened it to a fine point and pushed. "You're not a homophobe, then?"

"What? Absolutely not!"

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, since I am attracted to men myself."

That must have been a difficult admission for a proud military man with a strong hetero image; at least, it seemed that way to Wufei. _Very masculine. Very._

"Y-you are?" Wufei cleared his throat and studied the stack of files on his desk. His fantasies leaped off the dusty old shelf of his mind, shoving aside the aging brandy and cognacs, and exploded into the forefront_. Wild silver hair, hot lips, hard, hard chest, commanding fingers exploring…_ It took every ounce of his legendary discipline to leash his indulgent libido all back in and regain control. "I-I had no idea, but that's what I mean. You don't…ah…carry on at work. Your private life is just that—private, where it belongs." _With me…_

Zechs' smile turned gentle and he extended a hand to cover Wufei's for an instant, withdrawing it when Wufei looked up. "You don't have to answer this. It's rather personal, but are you currently in a relationship? No special _lady_, perhaps?"

"La-ady?" his voice cracked. Then he sputtered, nearly choking on his own spit, and caught himself and breathed deeply twice until he bridled his passions. "I am in no liaison, particularly with a woman." _How repulsive!_ "Women are of no interest to me whatsoever; besides, I haven't the time for trivial pursuits." _The thought!_

"I see." Had Wufei looked up, he might have seen Zechs' predatory smile. "Then your commander has been over-working you?"

"Not at all!" _Not what I meant!_

"It's probably hard on you to be the only one of your friends not in a relationship."

Wufei wondered how his personal life had become a point of discussion. "I'm not embarrassed to admit I'm happily single. I have a full life, teeming with meaningful activities and a relationship would…" _Be wonderful…_ he sighed. "This is not pertinent to the problem."

"Agent Chang," Zech's steely voice quavered, like the burrs on a sword's edge. When he spoke next, it rippled smooth and rich as cream port. "Wufei, there are no hard and fast anti-fraternization rules—just guidelines, and those mostly relate to agents reporting to officers to protect them from possible coercion."

"And if they were followed, if all the agents would act accordingly, I… we… would enjoy a more professional atmosphere. It's so unjust!"

"So your objections to your friend's behavior only relates to the workplace."

"Yes. I… I fight my own distractions. I work hard to be professional and it would be of great service to me if my fellow agents would behave. Is that too much to ask?"

"Not to ask, _per se_, but as you can see such hard and fast expectations can lead to disappointment when your friends fail to have anything but normal, healthy male appetites."

"But Heero Yuy! Who knew he was _normal_ in any way?"

Zechs' eyes narrowed as he gave Wufei a calculating once-over. "You are attracted to him?"

Wufei's eyes grew to comical proportions. "God, no!" _NO, no, no, no, no!_ _It's you, you fool!_

"That is a relief. Could you possibly be interested in joining me for dinner, tonight?"

"Ach?"

Zechs closed Wufei's gaping mouth with a finger to his jaw. "Is that a 'yes', I hope?"

Wufei felt the blood rush to his face and his ears burn. _Oh my God. OhmyGod OhmyGod OhmyGod_- His throat muscles had so constricted he couldn't speak; he had to make do with a curt nod in agreement.

"Excellent. I promise we can hide our affair far better and longer than Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell."

_AFFAIR! Maybe something more meaningful than that! There __**is**__ justice in this world!_

"Barton and Winner didn't even bother," Wufei said in a gasp of air which made his voice come out tight and whiny. "And I don't participate in sordid affairs. I'm waiting for—"

"You are worth whatever inconvenience it might cause me." Zechs set down his file and book to better embrace the adorably embarrassed young man standing appetizingly close. "I promise to take this slowly, as slowly as you like."

_-Once you get your hands on me and kiss me solidly in my office, which is wholly indecent while being very stimulating—stop analyzing!_

Wufei fell into his arms and gave in to his desires, loosening the ties to his fantasies, and letting them pool at his feet to be kicked under the desk. _Let the man plunder my mouth, give in, give in!_

In the far distance, he could hear Duo's voice from beyond the firmly closed door._ Zechs had closed it but had he locked it? Probably not. Panic!_

"Hey, 'Fei-man! Before you convince the boss to outlaw kissing and hand-holding, we'd all like to say we're sorry and we'll be a lot more… what's the word, Winner? Oh, yeah, _cir-cum-spect_ in the future."

"I should let you talk to them," Zechs whispered from lips just parted from Wufei's, "but that would presage me letting you go, or break my first promise."

"Later." Wufei guided the other man's head back down and initiated his own kiss.

"On another note," Duo intoned, "we all got a bone to pick with you. You _know_ what I'm talking about. These background checks Preventer's did on us? Is this for real?"

Again, Zechs broke the kiss. "Wufei, I mustn't keep you from your work, and this is important."

"I know you're in there!" Duo shouted. "Okay, like it or not I'm coming in!"

"Eek!" Wufei pushed Zechs clear across the room.

And then, without the barrier of solid wood between them, came Duo's voice again, "'Fei?"

In tumbled all four of his wretched, nosy friends, spoiling his moment with the man of his dreams.

(o)

"We're sorry," Heero began, apparently wanting to begin with Chang's problem first.

Duo had moved beyond that now, it appeared. "We _were_ sorry, ya mean." He shook a file folder as if that was a substitute for wringing someone's neck. "_**Muriel Francis Hannah**_?" Duo wailed in horror. "I don't even know where to _start_ on that name."

"But he will," commented Trowa.

"Most of it's girls' names!"

"That's a start," Trowa pointed out unnecessarily, which was the point of his joke.

It earned him a scowl from Duo.

"Muriel is Irish. Francis is French. Hannah is Hebrew," Wufei explained.

"Ugh."

"Duo, your mother was of Irish-French origins and your father from Romanian- Russian. American colonials on L2. Both were people you'd be proud of."

"Yeah, yeah… I read the file."

"He found out about your parents?" Quatre asked nearly breathless with excitement. "Trowa did, too!"

All eyes turned on Trowa, hiding quietly behind his shack of hair. "So, Chang, this was what you were talking about? What you said was waiting for me on my desk?" Trowa asked.

"What I said-? Oh, not that—" the Chinese agent started to say.

"So what's yer name?" Duo interrupted, clearly excited about the revelations.

"Triton Bloom revealed." Trowa flickered a smile as he saluted them all. "Father of Anglo-Saxon origin, German-English- mother was Greek-Italian."

"You're well blended like a good drink," Quatre noted with a sphinx-like smile.

Wufei's glower, darkened. "You have been _reading _me."

_Of course he has you foolish man_, Trowa thought to himself. "Ah, yeah." Trowa's smile was even more enigmatic. "We even had a crest. And Catherine's my sister, as she's always claimed."

"What is this all about?" Heero asked, shaking the answer from his file. "I didn't ask for my personal history to be exposed."

"Director Une had made it a priority before hiring you to look into your personal histories and uncover what was hidden about the famous Gundam pilots. Agent Chang discovered it and demanded you be informed." Zechs smiled.

"It was an invasion of your privacy. She never asked for your permission. Informing you was the right thing to do," Wufei said. He'd recovered a little of his dignity.

"Une! Damn straight!" Duo scanned the paper in his hand and sighed. "How'd _she_ get all this?"

"All colonists have blood and tissue samples on file, DNA. Children as they were born had medical record, birth certificates—you were traceable." Zechs sighed. "I'd personally like to extend my apologies for this assault upon your personal history. You can rest assured that this will remain completely confidential-."

"Uh. Huh." Duo nabbed Heero's ID papers and read rather than listened. "Lorenzo… How do ya say this name, 'Ro? _Fuck yer mama_?"

"Long 'U'!" Heero snatched the file out of his hands. "Fukuyama!"

"Lorenzo?" Duo grinned. "That's kinda sexy, ya know?"

Heero grumbled something, adding, "Make certain this information is not leaked, Merquise- sir," and turned on his heel. "I've got work to do."

"Well, thanks, Wu'man for making this all available to us. And ah sorry for… you know… before. Oh, and Zechs, _sir_, sorry to have disturbed _you_. Carry on." And to ensure his meaning was understood, Duo winked _and_ grinned with a double thumbs-up.

_How had he guessed? How?_ Wufei looked up to Zechs face, which looked equally shocked as his must have looked.

Trowa made sure Quatre was out the door before he drew it closed with one last word. "The director's not the only one good at invasive surveillance." His eyes tracked to the little red book on Wufei's desk, the one under the reading glasses. "Might want to start with that." And then he closed the door with a quiet "snick".

Zechs immediately picked up the glasses and the book of regulations. There was indeed a bug inside. "Yuy. He handed these to me just before I entered your office. I never suspected him to be so forthright about protecting his territory."

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

**Romancing the Dragon**

**A Halloween Story **

A Halloween-themed, one-shot with multiple get-togethers, featuring: 01x02, 03x04, 06x05

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

**Warnings:** AU, male/male pairings, language

Chapter 4

Quatre checked his watch, giving his boyfriend a few minutes more to lock up his office and use the bathroom before he left the building. He jumped when a pair of arms wrapped about from his back.

"Ready to go eat?"

"Oh! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Trowa smiled a lopsided smile. "Aw, just having fun. Heero and Duo are coming along."

"They are? I would have expected them to have stayed, wanting a little alone time."

Trowa shook his head. "I think they're afraid to be alone right now, you know?"

"You're very perceptive yourself," Quatre said with a hand lightly skimming the other man's arm. "Here they come now."

The two agents looked uncomfortable walking together in the building. And when Quatre insisted that they tell him _everything_, Duo started to fidget and Heero's frown deepened.

"They're not ready for cross-examination," Trowa said to stop his boyfriend's pressuring tactics, and then led the conversation into safer territory. "So, you going to Zechs' party?"

"Yes!" Heero barked, and then quickly added, "If Duo wants to."

"Yes." Duo was swift to agree, maybe before Heero changed his mind.

"Good." Quatre snapped up the subject and ran with it. "That means getting costumes. I know a fabulous place. It won't take long at all."

"They may have work to do, Quatre."

"Oh, don't quash his enthusiasm, Tro'," Duo drawled. "If I don't go now, it'll never get done."

"True," Heero said, and their plans were settled.

Almost.

Quatre brightened. "Or, I could pick them out for you and—"

Heero suddenly strode toward the exit. "What I have to do at work can wait. Let's get this over with."

Quatre didn't attempt to hide his frown. "You certainly make it sound like fun for all. We'll get food first!"

(o)

Quatre drove his car because it wasn't a flashy sports car; it was a luxury sedan and could fit all four of them and their packages comfortably. Trowa took the front passenger seat, allowing the new lovebirds to determine their pecking order and sort themselves out in back.

Duo and Heero sat a full body-width apart then took turns casting glances at the empty space. On a left hand turn, Heero moved his hand to occupy half the space. When the car took the next right, Duo let the force slide him to within an inch of that hand. Heero didn't wait for another turn before he slithered close enough to bump elbows. Duo pressed thighs together. Heero's hand glided to a stop atop Duo's knee and squeezed.

Encouraged, Heero 'walked' his fingers up Duo's leg until Duo stopped him.

Duo giggled, low with husky-male verve. Heero ducked his head to hide his pleasure.

Quatre glanced over at Trowa, who rolled his eyes in silent amusement at their friends' apprehensive romantic moves.

"I'll go through the drive-thru if you promise not to drip catsup on the upholstery," Quatre said, pitching his voice to the backseat in particular.

"Yeah, that'd be cool," Duo said, drawing out the "ooo" vowels. He seemed far more interested in watching the tendons move on the back of Heero's hand than in choosing where to eat lunch.

Heero was in another universe entirely made up of Duo. While everyone was placing their order at the microphone, Heero was torn between staring into Duo's eyes to determine the exact color and avoiding them by watching Duo's Adam's apple.

"Yuy?" Trowa's inquiry barely registered to the pair in back.

Duo swallowed nervously, wondering if he'd fit in a dressing room with Heero later, trying on costumes being just an excuse to ogle the guy's body.

"Yuy! What do you want?" Trowa barked.

"Arnie's?" Heero asked.

"Oh…" Quatre moaned. "You may _not_ disapprove now. The time for voicing opinions is over. The time for ordering food is upon you."

"But…Arnie's?" Heero repeated, not sounding too pleased.

"Yeah, we've been talking about this," Trowa said without bothering to hide his world-weary sigh.

"Just order the special like Duo did and you'll be happy and we can move on to pay and leave this window for the car behind us. All right?" Quatre told him.

"I did?" Duo said in wonder.

Of course he hadn't. Quatre would order for him just to get through the line and eat, but it did produce the reaction hoped for.

"Fine," Heero agreed carelessly, just as Quatre had thought he would.

Quatre paid for them all in order to speed up the process.

As Trowa put it, "Just try prying Yuy's hands off Maxwell now."

"I wouldn't dream of it, or want to. I simply want to eat. I'm starving!"

"I can tell."

"We were never that bad, were we?"

"Never," Trowa assured his lover. A smile started with his sparkling green eyes and spread to his lips. "Humping in the elevator was just a dream—for me. Nightmare for Une, when she caught us."

"Oh! That. Well." Quatre buried his mouth in his burger and shut up.

"We were once as bad as them, you know," Trowa whispered into Quatre's ear, making his lover grin with a mouthful of food.

Eating went fast. The food disappeared.

"Trash! Give me the trash," Quatre demanded. "Does anyone need a napkin?" He waved pre-moistened hand wipes at the pair in back and got no response.

Heero and Duo were using tongues. On each other.

"Whatever," Quatre grumbled. "Don't forget that even though the center of your new combined universe is all you see now, the rest of us still exist."

"I hear you," Duo said and then returned to kissing Heero.

"Okay, now we are off to the costume store. It's not far at all."

"We shouldn't do this again for a few months," Trowa suggested to his boyfriend.

"If you mean double date with them, you are absolutely right," Quatre agreed and smiled.

As the car rumbled along, Duo seemed lost in thought, until he burst out with, "Lorenzo… why-?"

Misinterpreting Duo's train of thought, Heero replied, "Because my parents chose that name."

"Um," Duo must have been biting his tongue to avoid saying, "Well, duh!" "No, what I meant was why did Wufei pass the background check info to us now?" He smiled. "And I like to say that name- Lore_nnn_zo."

"Hn. Don't get too used to it."

Trowa cleared his throat. "My guess is that it's a tactic to distract attention off Chang. It worked. You didn't talk about what happened in the conference room or what was going on between him and The Lightening Count in his office."

"Not sure about what Zechs had up his sleeve," Duo shook his head. "But 'Fei wouldn't want to let an opportunity to bark regulations at us just pass."

"That's correct. He definitely had his hands full in there and after his lecture on discipline-," Heero started.

"He'd want to make us pay, huh?" Duo scratched his head. "You gotta point, though; he didn't mention it even after I apologized, such as it was there at the end."

Trowa shrugged as much as to say "I gave you the benefit of my brilliance."

"So why today? Why give us the files today? Was he sitting on them waiting for some situation?"

"I can't believe you'd assume he'd do that." Quatre thought the best of his friends. "He didn't. It wasn't Wufei who set it up."

"Who then-?"

"Zechs," Heero ground out between clenched teeth. His hands fisted and eyes narrowed as he fell into combat mode, which for him was an automatic response like a natural instinct.

"Okay, so, why him?"

"His motivation was as Trowa suggested," Quatre said, "to distract us."

"It was Wufei who mentioned the files at our desks and that was before meeting with Zechs," Heero said.

"Actually," Trowa said, "Wufei said something was on our desks, but what I found on top of the stack," he paused to pull out a card, "was my party invite, a week late for some reason."

"Zechs knew my invitation was for the both of us and I'll just bet Wufei wanted everything proper and sent you your own."

"Unnecessary duplication of effort," Heero muttered.

Quatre summarized, "So Zechs wanted you to be looking at those files and discussing the contents rather than into what was going on between him and Wufei-"

"You think those background checks might be bogus, don't cha?" Duo pondered a moment. "Which means…I may or may not be this Muriel person! This reeks of-!"

"Who cares?" Heero dragged him into a long, meaningful kiss.

Quatre used that break to voice his opinion to the man beside him, who was listening. "Merquise wouldn't go that far," Quatre said.

"I'm not so sure he wouldn't," Trowa said.

Quatre pulled into a parking spot and set the brake. "You'll look into it?"

"Sure." Trowa nodded and looked at the two necking in the back seat and then at his watch. "I'm calling in—taking the rest of the day off." He cleared his throat and directed his comment to the pleasantly occupied Preventers employees. "Heero? Duo? You might consider doing the same thing, if you can."

They parted, Duo wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"You take off time like this… often?" Heero asked hesitantly.

"Every so," Trowa said with a carefree shrug. "It's part of being together and putting someone else first- on occasion."

He and Quatre drew together to hold hands, and a smile spread across his face. "Believe me; no one you work with is going to want to be around you guys in your current discovery stage."

Quatre fluttered his eyelashes and laughed as he led the way into the store.

Heero pulled out his cell phone.

"I can't believe you're taking the rest of the day off," Duo commented, patting his pocket to locate his phone. "Me either or too or… whatever."

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

**Romancing the Dragon**

**A Halloween Story **

A Halloween-themed, one-shot with multiple get-togethers, featuring: 01x02, 03x04, 06x05

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

**Warnings:** AU, male/male pairings, language

Chapter 5

A pair of pirates and a couple of cowboys walked into a room-

"Wowee b'doozers! This is some bash!" Duo spun around, his pirate hat grazing Heero's nose as he pointed out decorations and costumes. "Zechs went all out this year!"

Heero caught him with his false, curved, gleaming metallic hook and a gnarly, "Arrgh. _You_ are some catch!" sending Duo into a dramatic swoon.

Duo made sure that his naturally braided dreads slapped against his boyfriend's legs. "Now that you've caught me, what do intend to do about it?" he purred.

An unexpected voice answered for Heero, "Nothing." The tawny-haired gunslinger added a warning, one-eyed glance from under his wide-brimmed hat and patted the gun at his hip.

Heero's mouth stretched into a grin, which said, "make me stop," as he watched Trowa fingering the holstered Colt 45 replica. Did he feel lucky, he asked himself? _Yes_, with Duo still in his arms, very lucky. However, with Trowa "Heavyarms" Barton packing the heat, you never could tell. He concentrated all his attention back on Duo's lips, tantalizingly close and needy-looking.

His smile faltered when he heard the metallic click of a close-in, cocked pistol, the slide starting its recoil. He hoped the gun had a safety to prevent the gun from firing, or, better yet, had no ammunition at all.

Then Heero noticed that Barton's attention was elsewhere, scanning the room, and both hands were gun-free. He allowed his hand to slip lower and cradle Duo's rounded rump.

And then Heero felt the cold, hard steel of a gun at his back. He froze. _Quatre!_ Both sides of his holster were empty. He twirled a shiny, pearl-handled pistol in one hand while holding the other to the small of Heero's back.

"If Zechs Merquise has pulled out all the stops for this party, it would be for one and only one purpose," Quatre said.

Trowa liked knowing he could still intimidate his other friends, Heero especially. And he really liked seeing his angel-faced but daunting boyfriend coerce Heero—_especially in those leather chaps, although the hair on his upper lip could go. _ He adjusted his kerchief and leather vest and enjoyed Heero's confidence slip as he slid his hand into safer territory to Duo's back.

"And that reason is not just to celebrate Halloween with us?" Duo asked, dangling still nearly upside down in Heero's arms.

"I mean _besides_ that; he's attempting to dazzle Wufei." Quatre looked up at his darkly dressed boyfriend, and holstered his pistols. "Is my moustache on straight still? That last kiss of yours—"

Trowa tipped his head so his one visible eye glittered in the shadows of the brim. "Was a good one?" He bent closer to his boyfriend's face, pretending to examine him carefully. "You look really good. Really good. Really—"

"No, no! Not the moustache!" Quatre pushed away his face, laughing. "You'll mess it up. I just know you will!"

Heero disentangled Duo, whispering, "Later," and checked that the plush parrot on his shoulder was still attached then he remarked, "I think the 'dazzle' part is working."

"Chang's dazzling me," Trowa commented with an apologetic look to the blond cowboy on his arm. "You did a good job choosing his costume."

Chang's costume had been selected by and sent to him by Quatre. "A Chinese dragon seemed fine," he said with one more stroke of his false moustache. "Maybe a bit showy, but fitting, symbolically."

"And Mr. Tall, Blonde and Bloodthirsty has his eyes on him, you can tell," the long-haired pirate said.

"Merquise is a…vampire? I thought it was some ancient military garb," Heero said.

Trowa chuckled. "Note the dentition."

"You mean the fangs," Duo corrected him as he cast about for the food. "So, shall we go say hi, or 'howdy pardner', or sample the spread first?"

"None of the above? We have company coming," Trowa said.

Commander Lady Une entered into their friendship knot, her long skirts sweeping the floor all around them. "How nice you look tonight, gentlemen."

"Thank you, my lady," Quatre said first, adding politely, because he wasn't sure any of the others would, "You look beautiful. Marie Antoinette?"

"Yes! Thank you, Mister Winner. And may I say, you look dashing in a moustache?"

He actually blushed. "I-it's not real, but I was thinking about growing one."

"Oh? Well, you really should, unless Mr. Barton disapproves, or should I call you Bloom now-?"

"No," Trowa blurted abruptly.

Heero took off where his quieter friend left off. "None of us want those names to be mentioned."

"Which brings me to the point I've been meaning to make with you," Duo jumped in.

"Which is-?" she said, smiling fractionally.

"Who made those up? I know I ain't no Murial and 'Ro sure isn't a Lorenzo."

"Why, Duo Maxwell, you think I passed on false information?"

"It's possible," he hedged, because he didn't want to call his ultimate boss a liar to her face, "that _someone_ did. Like for a Halloween joke?"

"Trick or Treat," Trowa clarified.

Une trilled a peculiar little laugh. "Oh, no, no, no… that would be more along the lines of an April Fool's joke, and I don't pull those either."

"Oh, okay, not that I thought you were the type."

"Are you saying I haven't a sense of humor, Mr. Maxwell?"

He turned scarlet under her stare. "Er, no, ma'am. It's just a bad sorta hurtful joke, you know, if the personal histories aren't true and all."

She put a warm hand on his arm and leaned in. "It's all true and I can show each and every one of you how the data was retrieved and analyzed so you can confirm it is legitimate. Does that meet with your approval, Mr. Maxwell?"

"Ah, yes, ma'am. Thanks and all."

"Good. I'm happy to have settled that. Now, I want to go greet our host and find out what his surprise is for tonight." Her breath hitched in her throat. "Oh!"

And they all watched Zechs Merquise lead a nervous-looking dragon onto the dance floor with the swell of music.

"Now that's scary," Duo mused.

"Give them some space before attacking, Duo," Quatre warned.

"No way! Not after all the grief that homo-hater's given me! And all the time hiding… that!"

"He never said he didn't accept your sexuality," Quatre corrected. "Did he? Wasn't he only against affectionate displays in the workplace?"

"Let's test that theory," Heero said, taking his flustered boyfriend by the hand. "We'll put on a show."

"Dear God. What is he thinking?" Quatre moaned.

"I wouldn't say 'thinking' has much to do with the way Yuy's acting," Trowa observed.

"Of course, it's too much Duo. Love has gone to Heero's head and turned him from repressed to uninhibited almost overnight," Quatre said.

"Duo just seems to know what buttons to push."

"Except for the stop button," Quatre groused. "The two of them will give gay men a bad reputation if they can't behave."

Trowa's smile became a lopsided, and he said, "Uh, huh. We are talking about friends of Merquise here. They'll survive Yuy and Maxwell's honeymoon period."

The blond cowboy studied the partygoers more carefully. "You could be right."

"Yeah." Trowa sounded as if "being right" was a common occurrence for him. "Most of the guests here are hedonists."

"Still, we should keep an eye on our friends so they don't embarrass themselves.' That was all the concession Quatre gave. "Come on. Let's dance."

Trowa wiped his hands together. "And I was just getting interested in the banquet over there."

"Trowa!" His boyfriend grabbed a wayward hand and tugged. "Don't let your stomach rule you!"

"Like yours doesn't?"

"I didn't hear that… Hurry, before Heero strips Duo naked or something!"

"I wouldn't mind seeing that—"

"Tro-wa—"

"At your beck and call, honey!"

"That's better."

(0)

"Wufei-"

Wufei heard the sigh of expectation escape from the other man's lips. "Zechs," he answered.

"I know I told you earlier that I was comfortable keeping us discreet, but since Une has made the decision to proceed with the Preventers re-alignment, I will no longer be overseeing your department, there is no longer even a hint of impropriety in us going out. Don't you agree?"

"That's true."

"You concur?" Zechs sounded surprised, as if he hadn't expected him to go down without a fight.

_Well, he wouldn't make the next move,_ Wufei decided. _Not at all._

"So? Oh, come on now, do I have to actually _say_ it? You _know_ what I'm talking about?"

Wufei knew what Zechs wanted, but he was so very embarrassed to admit how terrified he was. Coming out was a very big deal for him. He just stood and waited the other man out, making him spell out everything and to take action. He certainly couldn't. His feet were planted.

He felt the brush of the long, platinum hair on his hand as the taller man leaned over him. "We might as well just forgo the hiding and step right in, don't you agree?"

He wanted to agree. This little voice deep inside him was growing stronger by the minute as it cried out, "Yes! Yes! Take me now!" Wufei felt pressured, and yet he always believed he reacted well under pressure. _Thrived under… pressure. Um._ He imagined the taller man laying upon him, naked, the weight, pressing him into the mattress, and certain parts of him were most certainly flourishing. He shivered.

Zechs was so close, Wufei could feel his body's warmth, smell his aftershave, see his lips move as he whispered, "I'll let you lead."

Lead—as in dancing? Or had he meant lead the way in their new relationship? Did that even matter? The two of them were a spectacle already, most likely, standing so close and him trembling like a weak woman. He didn't dare look around the palatial ballroom to find all eyes were on them. To imagine their exhibition attracting the entire party's attention was bad enough, but to have the visual confirmation, would be crushing.

Wufei nodded, however, reluctantly. "I see no way to avoid it."

He hadn't wanted to share his secret with everyone, not so soon. He was only just coming to terms with his feelings, romantic ones focused primarily on the elegant platinum-blond man. He'd wanted to mull it over for… a hundred years or so before making a grand entrance and expose his feelings to the world. A small world, but his world.

"It _would_ spoil my party if you refused to dance with me."

Even though Zechs' smile indicated that he was only joking with him, there was a kernel of truth in what he'd said. Chang Wufei would not be a party pooper this day, or miss an opportunity to demonstrate his mettle.

"Oh, all right, since you insist."

"I do. Now, allow me to remove this?" Zechs nudged the costume head piece.

He'd have to take the Dragon head off, his cover, his pretense. Hadn't he been hiding his feelings behind a mask or rules and regulations long enough? Did he actually think a real mask would hide him any better, now that no one could miss how he felt by his body language? The head piece had been fine for awhile, doing its art; it had got him past the door and, well, this far. But now he was ready. He _was_ ready. It would have to go in any case since it prevented eating, but Zechs wanted it off now because it limited their intimate contact.

"Go ahead," he conceded.

Soon, literally, his mask was off. Wufei remained the center attraction in his suit adorned with hundreds of iridescent purple scales and glittering black spines and claws—_much too showy, of course, but acceptable under the circumstances._

It had been the accommodation to his body shape that had bothered him the most. He'd nearly called to decline the party invitation based solely on the form fit. Not strictly overly tight. Just perfect. The stretchy fabric molded to every contour of his body. Every curve, without respect for decorum.

"You look spectacular," Zechs told him. Again.

He felt pretty spectacular, too, and wouldn't have minded had it been just the two of them. As it was, he couldn't hide the spectacular erection he was sporting.

Zechs pulled him close, chest to chest. "I'll help you with that, too."

Wufei wanted to hide his burning face in the taller man's cape, recognizing that the color of his face was probably a match for the scarlet satin lining.

"You're smiling," Zechs noted.

"Ugh." _How unimpressive that look was!_

"Now you're not. What did I say wrong?"

"Nothing," he said feeling the smile spread again. "I just look silly."

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't you looked in a mirror when you're happy? Try it when you are floating on air. I have. I look silly. Like a fool."

"Like a fool in love?" Zechs chuckled. "That's what I hope I'm seeing. That's what I'm feeling right now."

And they danced, glued together.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a 'Jack-o-Lantern'," Wufei mumbled. But he couldn't contain himself and grinned.

"Well, then, happy Halloween, my own _little pumpkin_."

The End.

A.N: Thanks go to Waterlily for her clever additions and edits and to Snowdragon for her support for this -KS

**H A P P Y... S P O oooo O K Y... H A L L O W E eeee E N !**


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